Best Companies To Invest In 2014

A slow, steady comeback has continued for General Motors (GM), with May sales up 3% year-over-year, the best month of total sales since September 2008. Further, the stock itself remains cheap given GM�� potential for sales and earnings growth.

New car sales for the industry as a whole grew double digits last year, lending additional credence to GM�� recovery and potential.

And now, GM is revamping its lineup, redesigning the Malibu and the Impala, and launching more competitive (i.e. lower fuel consumption) vehicles in the North American market.

But GM is also looking outside the U.S., and is pressing its position as the largest U.S. car company (by market share) in China to boost exports into emerging markets by 70% this year.

10 Best Restaurant Stocks To Own For 2015: NET Servicos de Comunicacao S.A.(NETC)

Net Servicos de Comunicacao S.A., through its subsidiaries, provides cable television, Internet access, and voice services in Brazil. It offers cable television services under the ?NET? brand name through various cable networks located in the largest cities of Brazil. The company also offers broadband Internet access services under the ?NET VIRTUA? brand name by using Embratel's IP backbone infrastructure. In addition, it provides voice services under the ?NET FONE VIA EMBRATEL? brand name jointly with Embratel. Further, the company offers integrated video, broadband, and voice services. Net Servicos de Comunicacao S.A. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vanina Egea] offers bundled services and has aggressively expanded its Internet and TV subscriber base in the state.

  Investing for Long-term Growth

  Looking forward, Telef贸nica Brasil is investing in technology and network expansion to further empower its competitive position. The firm is expanding its 3G network based on CDMA EV-DO and HSPA technologies, which provide a great advantage over its peers. Further, it expects to benefit from the growth opportunities in the 4G market. Consequently, it has signed a deal with Ceragon Networks Ltd. (CRNT) to deploy the superfast 4G network nationwide.

  A Valuable Stock

  Telef贸nica Brasil has a healthy balance sheet with strong cash flow generation (up to 9,576 million in 2013 from 3,488 million in 2011) and reasonable debt levels. Its net debt-to-EBITDA ratio is of 0.17 times and it has a debt- to-equity ratio of 0.2 against its peers��average of 0.9. Its financial strength and a robust dividend have attracted investment gurus like Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio) and David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio), who have recently incorporated the company to its portfolio.

  Considering the stock�� trading price of 14.6x its trailing earnings compared to the peer group average of 16.90x, and a compelling dividend yield of 7.30 with a payout ratio of 1.1 (against its competitors��median of 3.53 and 0.62, respectively), I believe this stock is a worthy investment opportunity with excellent growth potential.

  Disclosure: Vanina Egea holds no position in any stocks mentioned.

  Also check out: Charles Brandes Undervalued Stocks Charles Brandes Top Growth Companies Charles Brandes High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Charles Brandes keeps buyingAbout the author:Vanina EgeaA fundamental analyst at Lone Tree Analytics

  Visit Vanina Egea's Website

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Best Companies To Invest In 2014: Chorus Ltd (CNU)

Chorus Limited maintains and builds a network made up of local telephone exchanges, cabinets and copper and fiber cables. The Company has approximately 32,000 kilometers of fiber and 130,000 kilometers of copper cabling. These cables connect back to local telephone exchanges. Chorus fiber also connects mobile phone towers owned by mobile service providers. About 7,000 cabinets provide interconnection points for around 50% of the lines in its network. A range of these cabinets are mini telephone exchanges and have electronic broadband equipment installed in them. In some cases, retail service providers have chosen to install their own broadband equipment in an exchange and pay the Company for the rental of the access line. It offers a range of products delivered over its copper network and new products designed to provide access to the ultra-fast broadband (UFB) fiber network. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Watsa sold two stocks in the fourth quarter: Continucare Corp. (CNU) and First Place Financial Corp. (FPFC). He reduced Dell (DELL), one of his largest holdings, but almost 60%.

Best Companies To Invest In 2014: Destination Maternity Corporation(DEST)

Destination Maternity Corporation engages in the design and retail of maternity apparel. It offers casual and career wear, formal attire, lingerie, sportswear, and outerwear. As of September 30, 2011, the company operated 2,352 retail locations, including 658 stores in 50 states of the United States (U.S.), Puerto Rico, Guam, and Canada; and 1,694 leased departments located within department stores and baby specialty stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. It operates stores under the Motherhood Maternity, A Pea in the Pod, and Destination Maternity names. Motherhood Maternity brand serves the value-priced portion of the maternity apparel business with stores located in regional malls, strip and power centers, and central business districts. A Pea in the Pod brand serves the medium-priced and luxury portion of the maternity apparel business with stores located in regional malls, lifestyle centers, central business districts, and stand-alone stores. Destination Maternity brand provides Motherhood and Pea merchandise with stores located in regional malls and lifestyle centers. The company also sells its merchandise on the Internet through DestinationMaternity.com and brand-specific Web sites. In addition, Destination Maternity Corporation offers Two Hearts Maternity by Destination Maternity collection at Sears stores in the U.S. through a leased department relationship. Further, the company distributes its Oh Baby by Motherhood collection through a license arrangement at Kohl?s stores in the U.S. and through Kohls.com. Additionally, it had 66 international franchised locations comprised of 15 stand-alone stores in the Middle East and South Korea under the Destination Maternity name; and 51 shop-in-shop locations in India and South Korea. The company was formerly known as Mothers Work, Inc. and changed its name to Destination Maternity Corporation in December 2008. Destination Maternity Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Philad elphia, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Destination Maternity (Nasdaq: DEST  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Maternity apparel designer and retailer Destination Maternity (DEST) raised its quarterly dividend 6.7% to 20 cents per share, payable on Mar. 28 to shareholders of record as of Mar 7.
  DEST Dividend Yield: 2.96%

Best Companies To Invest In 2014: Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation(PVH)

PVH Corp. designs and markets branded dress shirts, neckwear, sportswear, footwear, and other related products worldwide. The company?s Calvin Klein Licensing segment licenses Calvin Klein Collection, ck Calvin Klein, and Calvin Klein brands for sportswear, jeanswear, underwear, fragrances, eyewear, men?s tailored clothing, women?s suits and dresses, hosiery, socks, footwear, swimwear, jewelry, watches, outerwear, handbags, leather goods, home furnishings, and accessories; and to operate retail stores. Its Wholesale Dress Furnishings segment markets dress shirts and neckwear principally under the ARROW, Calvin Klein, ck Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Collection, IZOD, Eagle, Sean John, Donald J. Trump Signature Collection, Kenneth Cole New York, Kenneth Cole Reaction, JOE Joseph Abboud, DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger, Elie Tahari, J. Garcia, and MICHAEL Michael Kors brands. The company?s Wholesale Sportswear and Related Products segment offers sportswear, including men?s knit and w oven sport shirts, sweaters, bottoms, swimwear, boxers, and outerwear principally under the IZOD, Van Heusen, ARROW, Geoffrey Beene, Timberland, and Calvin Klein brands; and women?s sportswear, including knit and woven sport shirts, sweaters, bottoms, and outerwear under the IZOD brand. Its Retail Apparel and Related Products segment provides men?s dress shirts; neckwear and underwear; men?s and women?s suit separates; men?s and women?s sportswear, including woven and knit shirts, sweaters, bottoms, and outerwear; men?s and women?s accessories; sportswear; and men?s fragrance. The company?s Retail Footwear and Related Products segment offers casual and dress shoes for men, women, and children; and apparel and accessories. The company was formerly known as Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation and changed its name to PVH Corp. in June, 2011. The company was founded in 1881 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  Large-cap apparel stock PVH (PVH) is a perfect case in point. While PVH's 18% rally would be stellar performance during a normal year, 2013 has been anything but normal for stock investors, so shares have actually underperformed the broad market by 8.3% since the calendar flipped over to January. But the price action in PVH points to shares making up the difference.

  PVH is currently forming a cup and handle pattern, a classic bullish price setup that's formed by a cup-shaped rounding bottom in shares that's followed up by a short-duration channel down. The buy signal comes on a move through the pattern's price ceiling at $135. Since PVH is testing that $135 resistance level this week, we could see a buy signal in PVH sooner rather than later.

  LKQ is currently forming a rectangle pattern, a consolidation setup that's formed by a horizontal resistance level above shares at $34 and horizontal support at $31. The rectangle gets its name because it basically "boxes in" shares of a stock -- the break outside of the box is the trade to take. So if LKQ pushes above $34, then it's time to buy.

  Even though consolidation setups -- such as the rectangle in LKQ -- move price action sideways, they come with directional bias in tow. Since LKQ's price action leading up to the rectangle was bullish, it's more likely to break out from the setup to the upside. While it's close now, it doesn't become a high-probability trade until $34 gets taken out.

• [By John Kell var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach(func]

  PVH Corp.(PVH) swung to a loss in the fiscal fourth quarter as the clothing company faced charges tied to its acquisition of Warnaco Group Inc., a deal that helped boost revenue. Adjusted earnings topped the company’s own forecast. Shares edged up 2.8% to $120.50 premarket.

• [By ovenerio]

  The company has a current ROE of 19.24% which is higher than the one exhibited by PVH Corp. (PVH) and the industry median. In general, analysts consider ROE ratios in the 15-20% range as representing attractive levels for investment. So for investors looking at higher levels of ROE, VF Corp. (VFC) and Hanesbrand Inc. (HBI) could be the options. Coach Inc. (COH) and Michael Kors have very good ratios. It is very important to understand this metric before investing and it is important to look at the trend in ROE over time.

Best Companies To Invest In 2014: British American Tobacco PLC (BATS)

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (British American Tobacco) is a holding company. The Company�� four principal brands include Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall. The Company has many other famous international and local brands, including Rothmans, Vogue, Viceroy, Kool, Peter Stuyvesant and Benson & Hedges. The Company�� brands are sold in over 180 markets. The Company�� products include Cigarettes, Smokeless snus and Cigars. The Company has over 44 cigarette factories in 39 countries. In addition to cigarettes, the Company makes cigarillos, roll your own and pipe tobacco. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  European stocks advanced for a fifth day, their longest rally this year, as data showed the U.K. avoided a triple-dip recession and as companies including British American Tobacco Plc (BATS) reported results.

Best Companies To Invest In 2014: Forbes Energy Services Ltd (FES)

Forbes Energy Services Ltd. (FES Ltd) is an independent oilfield services contractor that provides a range of well site services to oil and natural gas drilling and producing companies to help develop and enhance the production of oil and natural gas. These services include fluid hauling, fluid disposal, well maintenance, completion services, workovers and recompletions, plugging and abandonment, and tubing testing. FES Ltd operates in two segments: well servicing and fluid logistics and other. Its operations are concentrated in the onshore oil and natural gas producing regions of Texas, with additional locations in Mississippi, in Pennsylvania and, prior to the disposition of its Mexican assets in January 2012, which is discussed below, in Mexico. In January 2012, the Company sold its assets located in Mexico, as well as its equity interests in Forbes Energy Services Mexico Servicios de Personal, S. de R.L. de C.V. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Forbes Energy Services Ltd. (NASDAQ:FES), a leader in well servicing and fluid logistics management in the oilfield services industry, will participate in the GHS 100 Energy Conference being held June 25-26, 2012, at the Intercontinental Hotel in San Francisco.